The power of speech is one of the most important powers we have. Words, themselves, have a profound power to heal or to hurt, to create or to destroy. Speech is not something to take lightly. All of our ancient wisdom traditions emphasize, in their own language and way, the importance of right speech. In the Bhagavad Gita, Bhagawan Krishna explains that tapas of speech, or right dharmic speech, is that which is true, kind and beneficial. It’s not enough to just be true to justify being spoken. Yes, of course it MUST be true. But it also must be kind and beneficial.
Unfortunately, we have become habitual talkers. We talk and we talk and we just keep talking – even when we don’t have anything to say. And, that’s when we say things we don’t mean, things that may be true but that hurt others and ourselves. Or, even things which are NOT true and that certainly hurt us. AND, through constant meaningless talking we waste so much sacred energy of our being. So, what do we do to make sure that we’re choosing the right words…that we’re choosing the right speech? |
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